Why steer around an iron plate over a hole in the road that is sturdy enough to handle the weight of passing vehicles?

It’s a question that occurs to drivers who are funneled into the inner lane on York Mills Rd. to avoid the heavy iron plate, which appears to be covering a section of sunken pavement.

With all the construction going on right now, it seems like there’s a traffic backup around every corner, along with a noticeable increase in the time it takes to get around, particularly downtown.

Anyone who’s inched their way down Avenue Rd., through construction from north of Davenport Rd. to Bloor St., knows the torment of threading through reduced lanes.

Given the situation, it should be a priority for the city to do whatever it can to expedite smaller repairs and minimize the disruption to traffic, but that’s not always the case.

A reader reported on SeeClickFix that “incomplete road work” in the form of an iron plate has for weeks been a problem in the curb lane of westbound York Mills, west of Fenside Dr.

He included a photo with his complaint, showing that most of the pylons used to divert traffic around the plate were toppled and scattered in the curb, as is often the case with pylons.

“When will the work be done? Before a serious accident happens, when drivers or cyclists try to avoid the hazard?”

We went there and found the pylons had been restored to their diversionary positions — until another vehicle knocks them over — in front of a road plate that looks more than able to support the weight of even big trucks.

So why isn’t traffic permitted in the curb lane? A ‘bump’ sign could be used to slow down traffic approaching the plate, but without having to funnel into the inner lane.

The only thing we could think of is that the collapsed pavement under the plate likely has something to do with storm drains next to it, and that the weight of passing traffic could make the problem worse.

STATUS: We’ve sent an email to Hector Moreno, who’s in charge of area road operations in that area for transportation services, asking when it’ll be fixed and the lane re-opened.

What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/thefixer or call us at 416-869-4823. To read our blog, go to thestar.blogs.com/thefixer . Follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.

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